Teachers
by Booksong
Summary: Sokka and Suki's young daughter gets a mixed education from her extended family, even if she's not a bender. But what else could a child of the Gaang expect?


**Disclaimer: I actually _do_ own a character in this story...Sokka and Suki's daughter, Kaori. But not the rest of them.**

**A/N: I made up Sokka and Suki's daughter a while ago, partly on inspiration from my ASN friend Kyoshi Fan, who drew her first. I decided to name my version of their kid Kaori, which is Japanese for 'strong'. And then of course, any of the Gaang having kids brings up the wonderful question, "How will he/she interact with their extended family?" Knowing the Gaang, you can just bet that they'll support each other with any children any of them might have. So that's where this came from. And believe me, it was sooooo much fun to write. :D **

**Oh, and if anyone cares, I also made up my version of Zuko and Mai's son, Akio. Japanese for 'bright son'. But he hasn't figured prominently in any stories of mine...yet.**

* * *

**Teachers**

"She looks so…peaceful when she's asleep."

"Really? I was thinking more like…_quiet_."

Suki laughed softly and pushed Sokka's shoulder gently. "Come on, she isn't that bad. You just aren't used to having a six year old around."

"Sure, that's it," muttered Sokka. "Just like I 'wasn't used to' a baby and then a two-year old and then a three-year-old and then a--"

"OK, I get it. But you have to admit she looks sweet."

Sokka and Suki looked down together on the sprawled form of their daughter Kaori. She slept with her mouth open, much like her father, a fact that amused Suki to no end.

"It's no wonder she needs sleep," whispered Sokka. "With how active she is during the day."

"She's lucky," murmured Suki, watching her sleeping child. "Not many other kids get to grow up with her kind of family. Or her kind of education…"

"You mean like the firebending lessons?"

_"Breath is critical to firebenders. It is the source of our power. It regulates control."_

_"But I'm not a firebender."_

_Zuko sighed. "I know, but it's a useful technique for any warrior. Now, show me how we breathe to meditate."_

_Kaori closed her eyes and inhaled in an exaggerated gasp, and then it out in a noisy rush. Zuko closed his eyes, but he could not stop the tiny smile that touched his mouth. "Good, Kai. But try not to breathe so _loudly_."_

_Kaori looked up at her uncle with wide, innocent blue eyes. "Yes, Sifu Hotman."_

_Zuko scowled darkly at his niece. "WHAT did you call me?"_

_Kaori clapped a hand over her mouth, less out of apology than to hide the grin on her face._

_Flickers of flame sparked around Zuko's feet. He drew himself to his full height, towering over Kaori, forcing himself not to smile. "You don't want me to throw you in the turtleduck pond, do you?"_

_Kaori giggled. "It's only a couple feet deep. That's not scary."_

_Zuko's gold eyes flashed. "You don't want me to call Aunt Toph, do you?" He made his voice low and threatening._

_Kaori squealed and ducked behind a nearby tree. She was still giggling, but she played along with Zuko. "No, no, no Auntie Tof!"_

_"Kai! What are you doing to your poor uncle?" Suki's voice drifted out of the nearest palace window._

_"Unka Zuko's mad because I called him Sifu Hotman, mommy!" Kaori yelled from her safe spot behind the tree._

_There was a ripple of various tones of laughter from the window. Aang's familiar voice shouted back, " 'Atta girl Kaori!"_

_"You aren't helping!" Zuko yelled in the direction of his friends, although even he was having a hard time sounding angry now._

"And then there's the waterbending lessons…"

"Yeah. Katara _adores_ her though."

_"It's so…pretty, Auntie Ka'ra."_

_"It is, isn't it?"_

_Katara shaped the water almost tenderly, her fingers moving like they were doing a dance of their own, as she guided the stream through the air. Kaori watched in awe, her arms sometimes rising involuntarily to mimic her aunt's movements. Katara nodded in approval each time Kaori's hands went through the form correctly. With a final flourish, Katara swept the water around her body and then pulled it back into her hands, so that it spread like shining gloves over her fingers and palms. _

_Kaori broke her reverie, a smile spreading across her face. She held up both hands, palms facing forward. "High five, Auntie Ka'ra!"_

_Katara grinned back, and slapped her water-covered hands against her niece's. A burst of cool liquid showered them both, causing teacher and student to burst into giggles. _

_"Here," said Katara, still smiling. "Let me show you a move you can surprise your Uncle Zuko with next lesson." She winked, and Kaori winked back, squeezing both eyes shut in her attempt. The two of them grinned at each other with the understanding of two best friends, as they moved back into position for the next form._

"And of course she inherited one of the hardest teachers ever."

"Aw, c'mon. Toph secretly loves Kaori."

"Yeah…probably."

_"For the last time, kid, _solid stance_. You're as easy to push around as your dad."_

_"Sorry, Auntie Tof."_

_Toph sighed, folding her arms. _

_"She's only six, Toph," Sokka reminded her from the sidelines. He looked slightly nervous, whether about the flying rocks that were getting too close to his daughter or about Toph herself wasn't clear. _

_"I know, I know. But I'm going easy on her."_

_Sokka looked pointedly at the huge boulder balanced precariously beside Toph, with the earthbender's hand resting on its curve._

_Toph followed Sokka's gaze. "What, this? C'mon, Snoozles, she's not even blindfolded!"_

_"I'm just saying…"_

_"Do you want me to teach your kid, or do you want me to teach your kid?"_

_Sokka sighed and gave up._

_"I wanna learn how to stop rocks, Auntie Tof!" injected Kaori._

_Toph looked pleasantly surprised at the force in Kaori's voice. "Well, you won't be able to _stop _rocks. You're not an earthbender, and you're not an Avatar like your uncle. But this stuff can help you in any kind of fight."_

_"Solid stance," Kaori remembered, planting her feet with exaggerated stomps._

_"Uh, very good," Toph praised, sounding as if she was unused to saying it._

_"An' put on a scary face." Kaori remembered this from an earlier lesson. "Like this!" And the six-year-old scrunched her face into a scowl._

_Toph's opaque eyes gleamed, and she smiled just slightly. She couldn't see her niece's face, of course, but she could imagine._

_"Don't forget the growl."_

_"Raarrrr," said Kaori, attempting to sound fierce._

_A satisfied smirk crossed Toph's face._

_"There you go kid. You're well on your way."_

"And don't even get started on Aang…"

"He's still the same old kid, isn't he?"

"Oh yeah."

_"No. No, no, NO! You are not taking my six-year-old daughter out to ride elephant koi!"_

_"Aw, c'mon Sokka. When was the last time you and Suki rode the Unagi? Yesterday?"_

_"For your information, it was last week, and this is completely different!"_

_"I'm the Avatar. And you think I'd let anything hurt her?"_

_"I said…KAI! Get back here this instant!"_

_Kaori trod water from her place about twenty feet out into the lake. She grinned at her father. "I wanna ride koi wif Unka Aang!"_

_"Of course you do." Sokka covered his eyes with one hand. He looked briefly at the sky. "Why do you love to do this to me?" he asked the universe at large. "I couldn't have had a daughter that likes to fix pants. Oh, no. Okay, fine, but I'll be watching, and…hey!"_

_"Will do, Sokka!" Aang was already gone, bending the water around him so he was carried out to Kaori on a rising wave. He scooped her up easily as he passed, setting her on his shoulders as the wave surged higher, making her whoop with laughter. Far out on the lake, an orange koi breached, and Aang pointed, as if the monstrous fish could be missed. _

_"Aren't I supposed to be the one who worries?" Suki asked, coming up beside her husband, who was watching Aang and Kaori like a hawk._

_Sokka grumbled something under his breath. _

_Suki laughed softly and slung one arm around his shoulders, and stood watching; not the antics of Aang and her daughter out on the lake, but the amusing range of expressions Sokka's face was going through as he observed._

"And even Mai offered to teach her."

"Yeah, although that sometimes makes me nervous…"

_"Oooo, pointy."_

_"Yeah, most knives tend to be pointy," Mai said dryly. "Don't cut yourself, or your parents will have my head."_

_"And shiny." Kaori tilted the throwing dagger back and forth so it caught the sunlight, entranced._

_Mai rolled her eyes, but in a good-natured kind of way. "Can we stop discussing the shininess and pointiness of my weapons and move on to using them?"_

_Kaori looked up. "Sorry, Auntie Mai."_

_"It's all right. Now, we're going to try throwing them at that tree over there." Mai pointed her own dagger at one of the courtyard willows. "You hold it like this." Her pale fingers arranged Kaori's hand over the hilt. "And then take aim like this." She drew back her arm and half-closed one eye. _

_"And then throw!" Kaori finished the sequence for herself and, mimicking Mai's movements, she threw her dagger. It went far wide, ricocheted off the stone wall of the palace, and slammed into the bark of the willow...on the opposite side._

_Mai looked down at Kaori's glowing face, tilted up to hers as she waited for a verdict._

_"That was…good. You hit the tree, anyway. And you didn't hit a palace official this time, either. I'd say that's about ten points."_

_"Didn't hit Unka Zuko either." Kaori pointed over to where her uncle was sitting by the pond, feeding the turtleducks and observing. _

_"Well, we don't mind so much if we hit Uncle Zuko," Mai said with a straight face, loud enough for her husband to hear._

_Zuko mock-scowled at them both._

_"Is he worth points?" Kaori asked with total seriousness._

_Mai actually had to stifle laughter, something she almost never did. "Hmmm, I'd say he's probably worth five points."_

_"Only five?" Zuko said with righteous indignation._

_"You're a bigger target," Mai retorted, a smile twitching on her lips. _

"Yeah, between them all, she stays on her toes," Suki whispered fondly. "But she couldn't ask for a better family."

"And we couldn't ask for better friends," Sokka added.

He bent down and kissed his daughter's forehead with surprising tenderness, and then moved back so Suki could do the same. Then, arms around each other, both of them retreated silently through the door, closing it quietly behind them with a gentle click.


End file.
